[Scan-DC] Arlington setting up landing zone

Mon May 11 20:20:37 EDT 2009

David -- I'm sure there are some calculations involved. I would love to see 
them to understand this a bit better!

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Lloyd" <lloydde at verizon.net>
To: <Scan-DC at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Monday, May 11, 2009 8:17 PM
Subject: Re: [Scan-DC] Arlington setting up landing zone

> I'm sure there is a better way (mobile trauma room), though I look back at
> EMS and just having Paramedics is a HUGE improvement.  It used to be that
> Ambulances were just transport vehicles--now they are almost hospitals on
> wheels. I can definitely see where it would seem that air transport may 
> not
> seem the fastest option, though I offer:
>
> Usually (99%) of the time, a patient assessment is made and a chopper is
> called before a rescue effort has begun... and it usually takes the full
> time until the chopper gets on-scene before the patient is ready to be
> transported.  Listening on the scanner the time can seem like an eternity.
> There is a LOT of prep work that is required and usually involves just
> extracting the patient from the wreck, which has to be done slowly to
> prevent more injury.  Also, there is a lot of patient care (stabilization)
> that is performed by the on-scene medics as well...
>
> Maybe I was lucky because Trooper 8 was right around the corner, though I
> can't imagine that other parts of the county were that much further away.
>
>
> David
> -----Original Message-----
> From: scan-dc-bounces at mailman.qth.net
> [mailto:scan-dc-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Andrew Clegg
> Sent: Monday, May 11, 2009 19:30
> To: Travis; scan-dc at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: Re: [Scan-DC] Arlington setting up landing zone
>
> I have to presume that the first responders on this list know better than 
> I
> do, but my experiences in listening to helicopter transports on the 
> scanner
> are more in line with what Travis says. By the time they've called for the
> medevac, the thing has gotten in the air, they've scoped out a landing 
> zone,
>
> they've packaged the patient in an ambulance for transport to the landing
> zone, they've driven to the landing zone, unloaded the patient from the
> ambulance and put them in the helicopter, the helicopter takes off and 
> flies
>
> to the hospital, the helicopter lands at the helipad, the patient is
> unloaded, and finally gotten inside... the patient could have been there a
> lot sooner by ground. Like Travis, I've heard incidents where it takes a
> long time for all of this to transpire -- 45 minutes or more. And when the
> incident is 10 miles or less by ground to the hospital, I could ride my 
> bike
>
> to the hospital faster than the helo ultimately makes it there.
>
> I don't like to be counter-culture, but I really am having a hard time
> buying the time-to-hospital arguments for helicopter transport here in the
> city. Out in the rural areas and some of the far suburbs, it absolutely
> makes sense. But in the middle of Arlington on a Sunday afternoon (for
> example), I just can't buy it.
>
> Then you add all the safety problems these things have been having...
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Travis" <freqhopping at earthlink.net>
> To: <scan-dc at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Monday, May 11, 2009 6:52 PM
> Subject: Re: [Scan-DC] Arlington setting up landing zone
>
>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "michael rumberg" <m_c_rumberg at hotmail.com>
>>
>>   2.  the helo is ridiculously faster transport - the helo can get to the
>> hospital way before a ground unit.  The FCPD helo can go from Reston to
>> Mount Vernon in less than 5 minutes.  As the crow flies 30 mph is WAY
>> faster
>> than an average speed of 60 mph on the ground.  And quite frankly, an
>> ambulance even after going on the beltway, will never actually get
>> anywhere
>> near a true average speed for the entire trip at 60mph - even if there
>> really is "no traffic" on sunday afternoon.
>>
>> ___________________________________________
>>
>>
>>
>> This is not always the case.  In many incidents I've listened to, a 
>> ground
>> transport to Fairfax Hosp from Loudoun would've been faster.  The most
>> recent being the murder-suicide in Leesburg a few weeks ago.  It was over
>> an
>> hour from the time units arrived on scene to the time the bird arrived at
>> the hospital.  The incident began before 5am.  Aircare-3 was finally
>> airborne from Leesburg airport at 5:30 as I left my driveway for work.  I
>> was in Tysons Corner 20 minutes later, another 5 and I could be at the
>> hospital.  I don't even have lights or sirens.  I was sitting in my 
>> office
>> for a while before Aircare flew by around 6:10 am.
>>
>> There's much more to it than point-to-point time.  The bird has to get 
>> off
>> the ground most of the time.  That there can take 10-15 minutes.  I can
>> see
>> Aircare-3 when it finally leaves Leesburg.  Very rarely is it quickly
>> after
>> the request has been made.  Then once they're on the ground there is a
>> whole
>> lot of packaging going on.
>>
>> The one reason why Fairfax-1 can respond so quick is because they are
>> airborne much of the time without an EMS mission.
>>
>>
>> Travis
>>
>>
>>
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